Olive straightener



y 1941- G. w. ASHLOCK, JR 2,250,518

OLIVE STRAIGHTENER Filed Nov. 26, 1940 Z'Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 4 lorge 14 Ash/oak]:

ATTORNEY July 1941' e. w. ASHLOCK. JR 2,250,518

OLIVE STRAIGHTENER Filed Nov. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE E INVENTORfieorge W. Ash/oak Jr:

ATTORNEY Patented July 29, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OLIVESTRAIGHTENER George W. Ashlock, Jr., Oakland, Calif. ApplicationNovember 26, 1940, Serial No. 367,163

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the orientation of articles and particularlyto the arrangement of drupaceous fruits such as olives and the like withtheir major axis aligned vertically. The machine of the presentinvention has proven particularly useful upon olives and while theinvention will be described in connection therewith, it is to beunderstood that it is useful in orienting other oval shaped articles.

As is well known, olives are pitted and the cavity thus formed filledwith a filling material lending added flavor and palatability to theolive. This pitting operation has been conducted by hand or by machine.Due, however, to the peculiar oval shape of the olive it has generallybeen necessary to handle the olive and present it to the pittingmechanism with the major axis of the olive extending horizontally. Inthose instances wherein the olives were positioned with the major axisvertically, the orientation was usually achieved by hand, necessarilymaking the operation slow and expensive. Because an olive has suchdefinite major and minor axes, it is very diflicult to position theolive with its major axis aligned vertically in anything approaching anautomatic operation.v The machine of the present invention, however,enables olives to be oriented with their major axis positionedvertically, the operation being entirely automatic.

It is in general the broad object of the present invention to provide anovel machine for orienting oval shaped articles such as olives.

The invention includes other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, together with the foregoing, will appear hereinafter wherein thepresent preferred form of the machine of this invention is disclosed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, a portion of the machinebeing cut away'to illustrate the construction thereof.

Figure 2 is a section along the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is'a section taken along the lirie 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a section taken along line 44 in Figure 1. Y

Figures 5 and 6 are schematic views illustrating operation of themachine.

The machine of the present invention briefly comprises a uniquereceptacle having a cavity therein in the form of a frustum of a cone.The

side walls of the conical cavity are arranged in a relatively narrowangular relation. When such a receptacle is vibrated, an oval shapedarticle,

as an olive, axis vertical.

The machine of the present invention includes a suitable frame 6 made upof side plates. I and 8 secured together by channels 9 and supported bylegs I At opposite ends of the frame are provided shafts l2 and I3mounted on suitable bearings in the side plates I and 8. Sprockets l4and I6 are respectively provided on shafts I2 and I3, there being twosprockets in each shaft and the sprockets being positioned adjacent tothe plates 1 and 8 to support two endless chains I9 which extend aboutthe sprockets. The several links comprising the chains l3 each includean quickly aligns itself with its major angle piece 2| thereon extendingtoward the opposite chain. To each angle piece is secured a flat baseplate 22. Stud 23 and nuts 24 and 26 thereon secure the base plate toeach angle piece 2| and serve to position above the base plate, in aspaced relationship, a top plate 21. Mounted in each top plate areseveral article supporting receptacles 28 to be presently described indetail and which are carried as elements of an article conveyorgenerally indicated at I 0.

The upper run of each chain is supported, as

it advances to the right in Figure 1, by a first rafl portion 3|provided by strip members secured to the side plates 1 and 8 and by afinal rail portion 32 likewiseincluding members secured to the sideplates 1 and 8 and supporting the chains. An intermediate rail section33 includes two opposite support rails 34 and 36 'for the chains. At theright hand end in Figure 1 these are secured together by plate 31 weldedto each of the members 34 and 36. Plate 3'! is secured by studs 38 ontoa flat portion formed on a shaft 89. This shaft is ro'tatably mounted insuitable bearings (not shown) on each of the side plates of the machine.Adjacent their other end a shaft 4| secures the rails 34 and 36together. Mounted upon shaft 4| is a roller or ball bearing 42 carriedby housing between side plates 43 which also serve to connect thebearing 42 to a. bearing 44 mounted upon a drive shaft 46. Drive shaft46 is supported for rotation in suitable bearings 41 mounted on eachside plate of the machine. The drive shaft extends to a prime mover suchas an electric motor (not shown). That portion 46a of the driveshaftwhich carries the bearing 44 is made about 3; of an inch oil center withrespect to that portion of the shaft 46 mounted in bearings 41. Uponrotating shaft 46 at about 1,800 R. P. M. the connecting link providedby plates 43, bearing 44 and bearing 42.

between the drive shaft 46 and shaft 4| causes shaft ll to be oscillatedrapidly about the center of shaft 39. This serves to vibrate thesupporting rail structure for the endless chains. The importance of thisvibration and its utility will be presently further explained.

Articles to be oriented are supplied by an endless feed conveyor 8!including apertured strips 82 moving over a skid plate 63 to the rightin Figure 1 to release articles into a cooperatively positionedreceptacle 28 on conveyor l0. Conveyor GI and conveyor H] are moved in atimed relation because the shaft 64 carrying sprockets 66 which supportthe conveyor 6| is driven from shaft 12 by a gear 61 thereon driving agear 68 on shaft 64. The feed conveyor is more particularly shown in myPatent 2,190,970.

Means are provided for wetting the article supplied. In the drawings Ihave shown a header I! connected to a suitable liquid source and havinga pipe 12 extending therefrom over each row of the article receptacles28. Suitable spray nozzles 13 are provided on each pipe 12 to sprayliquid down onto the receptacles to maintain articles therein wet.Water, brine, or other suitable liquid can be employed and can beotherwise supplied to maintain the articles and the receptacles wetwhile undergoing the orientation operation.

The receptacles 28 are made up in the form of an inverted frustum of acone having the side walls 8| defining the cavital recess in thereceptacle at an angle to each other between 32 and 44. This angle isrelatively critical, I have found. Preferably it is about 36 although onlarge olives, for example, 38 may be employed to advantage. If thecavital recess is made with its walls more nearly parallel, an ovalshaped article such an an olive tends to hang up on the sides thereof.This same tendency also eidsts when the cavity is opened up to approacha straight line. The angle of 36 is that presently preferred-dt'isrelatively critical and while it can be made slightly more or slightlyless, the permissible limits are relatively narrow and are generallywithin those values given, namely 32 to 44.

Each receptacle 28 extends through a suitable aperture in the top plate21, a collar 82 formed on the receptacle limiting upward movement of thereceptacle by spring 80. A tubular coring knife 84 is secured in thebase plate 22. The function of the coring knife 84 and of the movableplunger pitting knife structure indicated generally at 8'! (see myPatents 2,157,518 and 2,219,832 for details as to the pitting head knifeconstruction) are dealt with in a co-pending application filed on evendate and entitled Olive pitter.

In operation, conveyor 6! delivers the articles to the conveyor ID inany position. Accordingly, (referring particularly tO-FlgliI'BS and 6)an article such as an olive indicated at 90 may be dropped intoreceptacle 28 so that it lies almost completely across the receptacle.With the walls of the receptacle wet, the rapid vibrationto which thereceptacle is subjected when it passes onto intermediate rail section 33causes the article to align itself with its major axis vertical andparallel to the major cavital axis of the receptacle. The article isthus correctly positioned for its subsequent coring and pittingoperation.

I claim:

1. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a receptacle for supporting an article positioned therein,said receptacle having a cavity therein in the form of an invertedfrustum of a cone with opposite cavity walls substantially at an angleof 36, means for placing an article in said receptacle in any position,and means for vibrating said receptacle to turn said article into aposition in said receptacle wherein its major axis is substantiallyvertical.

,2. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a receptacle for supporting an article positioned therein,said receptacle having a cavity therein in the form of an invertedfrustum of a cone with opposite cavity walls substantially at an angleof 36, means supporting said receptacle to receive an article in anyposition, and means for vibrating said receptacle to turn said articleinto a position in said receptacle wherein its major axis issubstantially vertical.

3. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a receptacle for supporting an article delivered to saidreceptacle in any position, said receptacle being generally in the formof an inverted frustum of a cone with the walls thereof at an angle offrom 32 to 44, means supporting said receptacl with its major cavitalaxis substantially vertical for a portion of the interval an article ispositioned therein, and means for vibrating said receptacle to align themajor axis of an article in said receptacle with said vertical majorcavital.

4. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a plurality of receptacles arranged one after the other toprovide an endless chain of said receptacles movable over a path, eachof said receptacles prow'ding a cavity substantially in the form of aninverted frustum of a cone having opposite walls thereof at an anglebetween 32 and 44, means supporting a portion of said chain in thatsection of said path wherein said receptacles are arranged with theirmajor cavital axis substantially vertical, and means for vibrating saidsupport means to vibrate the supported receptacles.

5. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a plurality of receptacles arranged one after the other toprovide an endless chain of said receptacles movable over a path, eachof said receptacles providing a cavity substantially in the form of aninverted frustum of a cone having opposite walls thereof at an anglebetween 32 and 44, means supporting a portion of said chain in thatsection of said path wherein said receptacles are arranged with theirmajor cavital axis substantially vertical, means for vibrating saidsupport means to vibrate the supported receptacles, and means formaintaining an article in one of said receptacles wet while said onereceptacle is vibrated.

6. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a plurality of receptacles arranged on after the other toprovide an endless chain of said receptacles movable over a path, eachof said receptacles providing a cavity substantially in the form of aninverted frustum of a cone having opposite walls thereof at an anglebetween 32 and 44, means supporting a portion of said chain in thatsection of said path wherein said receptacles are arranged with theirmajor cavital axis substantially vertical, means for moving said chaincontinuously over said support means and means for vibrating saidsupport means to vibrate the supported receptacles during movementthereof.

7. A machine for positioning a generally oval article in a positionwherein its major axis is substantially vertical, said machinecomprising a plurality of receptacles arranged one after the other toprovide an endless chain of said recep-

